Page 95 of Off Camera
“I sure as shit hope not,” Maverick says, horrified. “That would probably traumatize June Bug.”
I burst out laughing and bury my face in my hands. “That visual is appalling. I’m going to pretend I never said anything and disappear before I make things worse.”
“Second door,” Emmy calls after me. “The first is a closet.”
I pass the noise coming from the living room and make my way down the hall. The walls are covered in photographs and I take my time to look at them. Snapshots of hockey teams. Maverick with a baby June. Maven on Maverick’s back, her arms out at her sides and pretending to fly. Maverick and Emmy kissing on a beach. A shot of him, Dallas, and Reid, all smiling at the camera, similar to the one in Reid’s office.
They’re all sohappy, with so much love on display, and I think back to Reid telling me about his broken relationship with his dad.
It makes me glad to know he has a support system.
People he can rely on when the going gets tough.
Everyone needs a family like that.
I stop outside the door Emmy directed me to and peek inside. Reid is sitting on a stool and facing a mirror. There are eight braids in his red hair, and I hold back a laugh.
“There.” June adds a hair tie to braid number nine and smiles. “You look very pretty, Uncle Reid.”
“Thanks, JB.” He grabs her by the waist and blows a raspberry on her cheek. “You ready for some dinner?”
“Yeah.” She wiggles free from his embrace and adds a headband to his hair. “Did you bring the mashed potatoes?”
Reid laughs and stands. “Of course I did. I can’t let you and Emmy down.”
I accidentally kick the door and wince at the creaking sound. I try to flatten myself against the wall so he won’t see me, but it’s too late.
“Avery?” He glances over his shoulder. “Hey.”
“Hey. Didn’t mean to interrupt. I—Maverick and Emmy sent me this way, and I can see now that it probably looks like I was spying on you or something.”
“Not at all.” He kisses June’s forehead then reaches for the door, opening it fully. “Sorry I didn’t have a chance to answer your text earlier. Work was chaotic with an injury and five different meetings. My phone died after lunch, and I forgot my charger at home.”
“Sounds like it’s been a day.”
“Long. Tedious.” He shrugs. June waves hello to me before sprinting down the hall. “Better now, I think.”
“The braids help, don’t they?”
“The only reason I’m still functioning. Are you hungry?”
My stomach picks that moment to rumble, and I wince. “I am. I accidentally skipped lunch and didn’t have time to eat after my run before heading this way.”
“How long have you been a runner?”
“Gosh. Almost ten years now? When I stopped dancing, I wanted something that pushed me outside my of comfort zone. Training for half marathons has been a good supplement to that rigorous lifestyle I used to have.”
“You’d kick my ass in a sprint.” He brushes past me, the sleeve of his green Henley grazing my arm. “Come on, Sinclair. Let’s go before there’s no food left.”
Reid introduces me to the DC Stars hockey players. There are a handful of Titans guys mixed into the bunch, a second-string running back and a defensive tackle I recognize from theirroster. They all come up to me and say hello, taking the time to shake my hand and look me in the eye.
Maven blows me a kiss from across the living room and I laugh. She sits in Dallas’s lap and he rocks her in his arms, soft and quiet contentment on her face as she looks up at him and whispers something secret in his ear.
Nothing about the night feels awkward, and I’m far from out of place.
Reid and I make small talk here and there between bites of our food, but I talk to everyone else too. I show some of the Stars players the social media stuff I do, and Grant, a cute hockey boy with shaggy dark hair and blue eyes, won’t leave my side.
“I’m going to get some fresh air,” I tell him, rising to my feet and pulling on the hem of my skirt. “I’ll be back in soon.”
